In the aftermath of the SPFL Championship fixture shambles, Hearts will make a formal complaint about SPFL’s Chief Executive Neil Doncaster’s handling of the situation.
Hearts owner Ann Budge is understood to be angry at the decision on Wednesday to move the club’s final league fixture of the season – against Rangers at Tynecastle – to Sunday 3 May without consultation. To add salt to an already open wound, the SPFL today announced the fixture would revert to its original date – Saturday 2 May – albeit with a 12.15pm kick-off.
“The way in which Scottish football is being run really does need to be examined and explored,” Mrs Budge told BBC Scotland. “I’m not talking about personalities, I’m talking about the process. I have never run a business by committee. I find it very difficult that in certain situations you need 42 clubs to say yes before you can make any change. So the whole way in which Scottish football is run is something we do need to look at and keep challenging if things are wrong.
The attitude of ‘well that’s the way it’s done in football’ needs to be challenged.”
Hibernian have also hit out at the SPFL’s handling of the fixtures while Kilmarnock have also criticised Doncaster, stating they had asked for a home fixture post-split to mark the occasion of Killie winning the league 50 years ago – but were ignored.
Hearts have thanked their supporters for their patience and understanding while they deal with this ‘difficult situation’.
Author of The Team for Me - 50 Years of Following Hearts. Runs Mind Generating Success, a successful therapy practice in Edinburgh. Contact me if you want rid of any unwanted habits. Twitter @Mike1874
